O segundo sexo de Orlando: uma leitura de Orlando: a biography, de Virginia Woolf, a partir de Le deuxième sexe, de Simone de Beauvoir

Abstract

Simone de Beauvoir and Virginia Woolf are two names frequently related when it comes to the Second Wave of feminism. Both are considered important figures in relation to the women's movement, and, within feminist critical studies, the two authors are commonly brought up when addressing sexism throughout history. However, it was observed that this approximation between the two of them is generally limited to the field of theoretical support and does not take place as an analytical center. Taking this fact into account, in addition to the connection between her images as important icons in the history of feminism, this work attempts to place the dialogue between Woolf and Beauvoir's writing at the heart of its investigation. Through a comparative approach to two of her works that echo a discussion that is still fundamental for feminist theory – the different possibilities that exist for each sex and the relationships between male and female –, we intend to answer the following questions: how does Woolf’s fiction, in Orlando: a biography (1928), and Beauvoir's philosophy, in Le deuxième sexe (1949), converse? Is there any dialogue between their works regarding the constructions and relationships between the masculine and feminine? In order to respond to the general problem of this research, a path marked by some goals was outlined. The first of these is to investigate Woolf and Beauvoir's links with existing feminism in their historical-national contexts, clarifying the path that led them to the title of feminist writers in contemporary times. Another aim is to investigate how the two writers deal with themes linked to the body and femininity, which are central concepts within feminist theory. Finally, we seek to analyze the trajectory of Orlando's character throughout the narrative based on the propositions brought by Le deuxième sexe, observing how the writings in question align – in a movement of confluence and/or separation – in the debate that both incite on the feminine and masculine.